A British frigate was dispatched to track a mysterious battleship that covertly sneaked in close to Denmark’s coast. The ship turned out to be Russian stealth corvette conducting a complex checkout of battle systems, according to British media.

Russian naval drills in the Baltic Sea drew some heat after
British HMS Montrose (a type 23 frigate) had to establish
line-of-sight range with an unidentified warship cruising off the
territorial waters of NATO-member Denmark on June 19.

“We picked up a vessel on our radar that was not showing any
of the normal behavior expected of merchant vessels or allied
warships,” said Lieutenant Chloe Lea, HMS Montrose’s watch
officer, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

"We have seen the Russians operate a lot in this area, but
this is the closest we have seen them,” she said.

The Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose, based in Plymouth, has a crew of
205 and is armed with Sea Wolf missiles, Harpoon missiles, and
Sting Ray torpedoes.

Both Russian warships and aircraft were conducting routine
maneuvers in international waters, so the British ship left the
area.

While HMS Montrose was tracking Soobrazitelny, a Russian Ilyushin
IL-20 “Coot” maritime patrol aircraft was circling the British
ship, analyzing the radar target signature of the Royal Navy
destroyer.

“Both the Russian vessel and aircraft appeared to be carrying
out their normal business,” the British Ministry of Defense
acknowledged in a statement.

HMS Montrose was taking part in the BALTOPS multinational
reinforced exercise that included 14 countries, the biggest NATO
military drills in Eastern Europe since the Ukraine political
crisis entered its critical phase.

“All our interaction so far has been professional and
effective, and we have gained huge benefit from working so
closely with our allies in such a busy and challenging
environment,” said Commander James Parkin, commanding
officer of HMS Montrose.

Three warships of the Steregushy-class stealth corvette series,
the prototype Stereguschy, accompanied by Soobrazitelny and Boiky
production line ships, have taken part in the latest naval
drills, conducting missile firing tests and practicing landings
of on-board helicopters in various conditions, including at night
time and in motion.

Two days prior to the latest naval encounter, three RAF Typhoon
fighter jets were scrambled to head off four separate groups of
Russian aircraft taking part in drills in the Baltic.